Our Wartime Heroes: firsthand stories from men and women who were there

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During WWI, Edward was wounded then taken prisoner. It fell to his mother to discover what then happened to him.

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After nursing in Gaza, Rose sailed homeward south. It was a perilous journey.

Her account of nursing in New Guinea and Bougainville is typical of the skill with which the women saved many lives. Their story is not often told.

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Lord Hawhaw was an English traitor during WWII. His radio broadcasts on behalf of the Germans were designed to demoralise.

Rose was subjected to his frightening lies even before she even reached the battle grounds.

She nursed in Gaza and on overcrowded troop ships, at times in fear of her life.

Narration Jennifer Kain. Original interview with Rose by Audrey Jacques in December 1986.

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One of the first from Western Australia to enlist in WWI, Stan was also one of the first to land on Gallipoli soil on the 25th of April, 1915.

Early on, Stan took a bullet in the back, just next to his spine. He was given up for dead. But...

Narration, Adele Peirce. Voice of Stan, Rhys Hughes. Written by Jeffrey Peirce.

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Plague, head wounds, shell shock, surgical nursing. The skilled women who cared for the wounded men in WWI faced them all.

Very Paisley was no different. She was posted to India at first where the occasional snake was was a change from the oppressive heat.

After the war, again she was among those Australian Army Nurses who put their fine skills to use in the community.

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Percy was welcomed with open arms at the 75th Gallipoli Anzac landing commemoration despite not being part of the official contingent.

Before listening to his account of the moving service, you'll hear an excerpt of the last episode as he received help to get through the crowds heading to the service.

Percy was 95 at the time.

This is the final part of Percy's war. We leave him standing again on the Suvla beach.

Narration Sharon Kennedy. Original recording, Bunbury Oral History Group.

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1990, Percy naturally hoped he would join other veterans at Gallipoli for the 75th anniversary dawn service. However, the Australian government ruled him ineligible.

It took the determination of many people acting on his behalf to make sure that he would be there on April 25th.

Percy was 95 at the time.

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Percy was a wily character who knew how to look after himself. He knew when to obey an officer and when not to.

He was 100 at the time of recording but he remembered only too well the conditions on Gallipoli.

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During WWI, the soldiers fighting on the Gallipoli peninsula endured heat, flies dysentery. They didn't expect a snow storm however.

Percy and some mates were waiting on the beach for a ship to arrive with supplies. As it started to rain, the men realised that the ship wasn't going to be able to unload because the seas were too rough.

A friendly orderly offered some shelter for the wait.

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Flies, lice and dirty clothes, Percy wasn't terribly keen on life fighting on the Gallipoli peninsula during WWI.

He wasn't that keen on repairing the wire between the trenches either. At least the Allies and the Turks had an agreement about that. The flies weren't so cooperative.

With his usual dry sense of humour, Percy paints the picture of survival at a basic level.